I had come to see language as an almost supernatural force, existing between people, bringing our brains, shielded in centimeter-thick skulls, into communion. A word meant something only between people, and life’s meaning, it’s virtue, had something to do with the depth of the relationships we form. It was the relational aspect of humans – i.e., “human relationality” – that undergirded meaning. Yet somehow, this process existed in brains and bodies, subject to their own physiological imperatives, prone to breaking and failing. There must be a way, I thought, that the language of life as experienced — of passion, of hunger, of love — bore some relationship, however convoluted, to the language of neurons, digestive tracts, and heartbeats.”

Business success doesn’t necessarily go to those with the best product. It goes to whoever is the most persuasive. George Soros may be one of the brightest minds in finance, but he would fail miserably as a financial advisor. Not one person in ten who reads his books understands what the hell he’s talking about.

Most business edges are found at the intersection of trust and simplicity. Both rely on the ability to tell customers what and why you’re doing something before losing their attention.

This is one of the crazy things that gets harder to do the smarter you are. There’s a bias called “the curse of knowledge,” which is the inability to realize that other people with less experience than you have don’t see the world through the same lens you do. I saw this firsthand when a financial advisor told an utter novice grandmother that a higher bond allocation (which she wanted) didn’t make sense “because of the slope of the yield curve.” She had no idea what this meant, and told me experiences like this eroded trust since she couldn’t distinguish her confusion from his obfuscation.”

What does Love Mean? … This is an age old question that has occupied poets and playwrights, Philosophers and songwriters, and many a love struck and lovelorn teenager and adult. One can only feel sorry for the lexicographer who must take on the task of defining this word love in all its nuances and manifestations.

Just take the phrase ‘I Love You’ and consider the many meanings of love in this one utterance depending on the object of one’s affection.

‘I love you’ to a child or to a parent: This expresses familial affection and closeness.
vs. ‘I love you’ to a piece of chocolate cake which suggest strong partiality and enjoyment, pleasure in that piece of cake.

‘I love you’ to a dear friend. That suggests a long standing, deep affection, real care.

And then there is, ‘I love you’ to a romantic partner. Deep affection plus sexual attraction, that special feeling that may not happen often.

And how loaded this speech act is with the romantic interest. A speech act that people wait for because I think we see it as coming with a kinda promise about a future and about a commitment to intimacy.

It is a speech act that can also raise complications in terms of reciprocity. If someone says I love you, what do you say back? One is ‘I love you too.’ But does that sound like you are only saying it because they said it first. What if you are not ready to say ‘I love you?’ What do you say? The person says ‘I love you,’ you say ‘Thank you,’ or ‘I know’ — neither of which seem like very good responses to that particular speech act.

So look at all we have done with just three words there – ‘I love you.’ As I said you have to feel sorry for the lexicographer facing down this word.”

— Anne Curzan, Ph.D. University of Michigan – Fooling Around — The Language of Love Lecture 29 from The Secret Life of Words: English Words and their origins (The Great Courses)

Geoffrey Miller notes that most adults have a vocabulary of about sixty thousand words. To build that vocabulary, children must learn ten to twenty words a day between the ages of eighteen months and eighteen years. And yet the most frequent one hundred words account for 60 percent of all conversations. The most common four thousand words account for 98 percent of conversations. Why do humans bother knowing those extra fifty-six thousand words?

Ninety percent of emotional communication is nonverbal. Gestures are an unconscious language that we use to express not only our feelings but to constitute them. By making a gesture, people help produce an internal state.”

That is what makes living in France – or anywhere overseas, I suppose – so interesting. Things look familiar. But they are never quite what you think. Even the words often mislead you. French has many words that look for all the world like those of English, yet with very different meanings.

For example, “Are there a lot of préservatifs in the food in France?” asked our new intern, Vanessa. The word sounds like something you might find in food. But préservatifs is the French word for condoms.”